Isekai Journey Of The Magic Archer

Chapter 717 Sorrow of a ruler

?[OP: ]

[ "My fellow citizens, it is with an indescribable sorrow and a heavy heart that I stand before you today to share the grievous news that our beloved city… has been subjected to a heinous act of destruction." ]

With a heavy heart and tearful eyes, the ruler of the principality, the head of Lakmer household, the family that was given the heaviest duty to protect and defend this nation from any external or internal threats.

[ "In the quiet of last night, an organization made of the evil demonic human forces, unleashed a malevolent assault upon us." ]

He had failed his ancestors.

He had failed to protect his city and his people.

Even if they might have succeeded to be victorious in this battle, just the fact that he was not able to see what they had been plotting for all these years, made him incompetent in his own eyes.

[ "The toll is heart-wrenching… hundreds of our cherished citizens, our family members, our children… our children, have been tragically lost to the merciless hands of evil." ]

He was addressing not only the people present in the grand arena, however, to every single person watching them all over the world.

[ "Last night… a tragedy hit our proud capital of Lakmer." ]

His voice was heavy.

One can tell he was emotional as he spoke every one of those words.

And that very fact confused the people who knew nothing about it even more.

[ "I know none of you could understand what I am talking about…" ]

He moved his gaze from right to left, and weakly smiled at all of his citizens present in this arena.

As well as all that were not present here as well.

[ "Perhaps, this will remind you a little of that dark night." ]

He looked upwards, towards a certain point, all the other eyes present in the arena, as well as the screens displaying these moments, followed his gaze.

"…?"

"…!"

"…?!"

Questions, surprise, and confusion overwhelmed the crowd as they saw a familiar figure hovering above them.

[ "If you will please, Lord Marlin." ]

-Oooooooooong!

The headmaster, the attractive wizard, the strongest Archmage of this world and someone that was not supposed to be here at this moment, was hovering above them.

And right when Lord Justin addressed him by his name, with his hand raised high in the sky, the headmaster cast a spell… or, broke off a spell that was already in effect, would be a better way to say it.

[ "Some of you will be shocked." ]

As soon as the headmaster did that, people started vanishing from all over the arena, from all over the streets, from all over the city itself.

[ "Some of you will be confused." ]

In the arena, old grandparents vanished from right beside the young children.

[ "Some of you will not understand what is happening at the moment." ]

In houses, children who had been playing with their toys… vanished right in front of their parent's eyes.

[ "I want every one of you, our people… my people, to stay calm for a moment, and listen to what I have to say." ]

Parents, children, friends, relatives, grandparents and people they might have looked up to at one point. Brave people that lost their lives fighting evil last night… it was not going to be easy for them to understand how they were not around anymore.

Even as Lord Justin explained to them all in the simplest words what had happened, and what was happening right now, and the reason it was happening like this… he knew it was not going to be easy for them to understand his simple words.

[ "In the face of this non-definable tragedy, I must also acknowledge the weight of our collective inability to shield all our citizens from the merciless grasp of this malevolent force." ]

He knew just how bitter it was…

He can see the faces of confused children who thought they had been laughing with their grandparents only until a moment ago.

He could see the faces of confused parents whose children had vanished from right beside them.

The confused looks. The shocked looked, the stunned looks.

The looks that had understood what was happening but couldn't understand the reasoning behind it.

The looks that had accepted the loss, and were crying, shouting, or… just like the young couple who had lost their other half, trying to go to where they were, only to be stopped by the magic of this blessed space. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ (ꜰ)ir(e).nᴇt

[ "It is not easy to process, it was not for me either when all of it began…" ]

He was a sensitive ruler who loved his people.

He cared for them. Which was perhaps the main reason all of this was so difficult for him.

[ "They appeared out of nowhere all over the city, as well as the outskirts of the city, in the forests and nearby hills." ]

He had to make a story for political reasons and it pained his heart even more.

[ "They were a kind of foe we had never faced, or had expected…" ]

He told them a made up story with some half truths mixed in it…

[ "Despite the steadfast support of our strong allies, we are confronted by the stark reality that some lives have been tragically lost, and the echoes of their absence will never be filled with anything else." ]

He told them things that shocked them, as well as the rest of the world's powers that had started watching this speech after the grave topic was revealed to the entire world.

[ "The anguish is intensified by the knowledge that, despite our best efforts and the unwavering support of those who stand by our side, we were unable to preserve the lives of all our fellow citizens." ]

Four members of the student council, subordinates of the great headmaster discovered these forces, even though it was late.

They reported it to the headmaster and the headmaster gathered all the power he could to prevent what was to engulf the entirety of the capital city, a place where his top students had been staying at that time.

He did things that people will never know to stop the demonic forces.

He did things that will keep the balance of the world intact even at the cost of his personal loss… the favours he called in, the ones he gathered for this one night, all of them were there for something, or because of something.

Using his precious favours, his own resources, and aiding Lakmer gave him nothing.

Doing what he had done and creating this whole illusion will only make him look bad in the eyes of the world as well.

There was nothing to gain in all this for him visibly, and he cared little about all that.

[ "Demons descended upon this land yesterday, two demon nobles that would have turned this city to ashes if the brave helpers had not stopped them all outside of the strong walls of the city… that themselves, never fell." ]

He was following his duty, which was to maintain balance in this world, and fend off evil.

And he did it to the best of his abilities.

[ "Hundreds of demonic humans, strong enough to defeat the Knight captains in matter of minutes, along with hundreds of demonic beasts, horrors resembling golem, to creatures that could not even be described, walked this land just few hours prior this wonderful evening…" ]

He aided Lakmer, the political centre point that also aided in the maintenance of world stability.

And… the only reason he cast that spell all over the city, and created the illusion that the common, innocent people were spending the most amazing, breathtaking moments of their lives together, was to aid the Principality with much more difficult times than this ahead of them.

[ "We were able to fend them off… preserve as many lives as we could, and, save as much from the wretched forces of evil as we were capable of.

However… although we did our best, lives were lost.

Our people, my people… my friends, family, and children… were lost to the darkness of evil.

Gone beyond the point we could even recover their remnants…" ]

If it were Lord Maverick, he would not have been able to address the public as strongly as Lord Justin did.

If it were Lady Carolina, she would not have been able to express as much emotions as he did.

And if it were Lady Charlotte in his place, she would not even have stood strongly like he was.

[ "I apologise… everyone." ]

It was difficult for him. Very difficult.

More than any of them.

[ "However, we could only mourn for the loss… and, accept the reality with utter bitterness by proceeding with what is to happen anyway." ]

But he did it.

[ "I would like to express my deepest gratitude for the late souls who are not among us anymore…" ]

One by one, slowly and with his utmost gratitude, he called out all the names of the deceased.

[ "Thank you, Elder Kaiser Pinio, for being the cheerful grandfather and, the only family to your young grandson, Julius." ]

He thanked the Enders for what they had done throughout their lives.

[ "Thank you, Lady Garcia Nu, for being the great backer of eastern streets…" ]

He thanked the parents and younger people for all they had done for the city, and for the others during their time in this city.

[ "Thank you… young Mason, you succeeded in protecting your younger sister, Joy." ]

He thanked the children who saved others from the evil, at the cost of their own lives.

[ "Thank you… everyone." ]

He thanked them.

He apologised.

He shed tears of deep agony.

And then… he looked back at all of them, with angry, confident, unwavering eyes.

[ "The evil was driven out completely but their roots still remains on this world, somewhere." ]

A storm has passed, and, one does not cry after surviving a natural disaster.

[ "So let us all face the evil, with not sorrowful, weak eyes… but with resolute strength that does not faulted even while looking directly back in their abyssal eyes!" ]

One rejoices and celebrates when they have survived what could have been their last day.

[ "Let us continue with the award ceremony of the most sorrowful annual alchemy competition of our great nation, and show the evil that WE ARE NOT WEAK!" ]

And he encouraged them to do just that.

Even though he himself… was clenching his fists hard enough for them to have created a stream of blood… which now filled the balcony where the other leading powers of the world were present alongside them.

[ "Let us continue… with what should have been continues…" ]

A storm passed and another will come.

However it will pass as well and the dawn of the new, better day will surely grace them.

It was certain…

It was the law of nature.